Cornell University Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics

The Cornell Small Grains Project has a history more than 90 years of developing innovative approaches to crop improvement. Our research program utilizes appropriate technologies encompassing molecular genetics, physiology, pathology, and breeding to research strategies that contribute to the development of superior crop varieties.

Our basic research projects are primarily focused on comparative genomics that emphasizes comparison of genes and genomes across species and genera using sequence and map-based tools. Elucidation of structure-function relationships of genes and genomes is more efficient in model species and efficient methods of transferring that information to other species are vitally important for crop species with large, complex genomes such as wheat. We also use trait dissection, integration of information about metabolic pathways, gene expression, and chromosome location to facilitate the rational selection of candidate genes. Allelic diversity experiments are employed to facilitate the identification of superior alleles for genes of economic importance so that they can be assembled in superior crop varieties.

Our small grains breeding program integrates molecular approaches with conventional methods such as bulk, pedigree, single seed descent, and backcross, depending on the breeding objectives. A significant portion of the breeding effort involves developing efficient backcross methodologies and marker-assisted-selection to enhance the quality or disease resistance of successful cultivars. Current projects include the gene expression, genetics and physiology of preharvest sprouting resistance (seed dormancy), milling and baking quality, and plant pigments with the goal of identifying and cloning the genes controlling these traits. We collaborate with plant breeders and geneticists around the world on projects that involve the use of molecular markers to assess genetic relationship, construct linkage maps, and map genes of interest.

The more applied goals of our program are to: (1) develop, evaluate, and introduce new cultivars and germplasm of small grains having improved yield, nutritional quality, disease resistance, and other characteristics that increase the crop value and production efficiency; (2) develop and evaluate novel breeding strategies for crop improvement and (3) elucidate the inheritance of agronomic plant characters, the gene expression controlling these characters, and their correlations with other traits. A regional variety testing program is conducted annually for wheat, oats, and barley.

I teach Plant Breeding Methods Lab (PL BR 604) and Perspectives in Plant Breeding Strategies (PB 716).

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Recent Publications

Adom, K.K., M.E. Sorrells, and R.H. Liu. 2003. Phytochemical profiles and antioxidant activity of wheat varieties. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 51:7825-7834.

Akhunov, E.D., J. Andrew Goodyear, Shu Geng, Li-Li Qi, Benjamin Echalier, Bikram S. Gill, Gerry Lazo, Shiaoman Chao, Olin D. Anderson, Anna M. Linkiewicz, Jorge Dubcovsky, Mauricio La Rota, Mark E. Sorrells, et al. 2003. The organization and rate of evolution of the wheat transcriptome are correlated with recombination rates along chromosome arms. Gen. Res. 5: 753-763.

Sorrells, M.E., M. La Rota, C.E. Bermudez-Kandianis, R.A. Greene, R. Kantety, J.D. Munkvold, et al. 2003. Comparative DNA Sequence Analysis of Wheat and Rice Genomes. Gen. Res. 13:1818-1827.

La Rota, M. and M.E. Sorrells. 2004. Comparative DNA sequence analysis of mapped wheat ESTs reveals complexity of genome relationships between rice and wheat. Functional and Integrative Genomics: 4:34-46.

Magalhaes, J.V., D.F. Garvin, Y., Wang, M.E. Sorrells, P.E. Klein, R.E. Schaffert, L. Li, and L.V. Kochian. 2004. Comparative mapping of a major aluminum tolerance gene in sorghum and other species in the Poaceae. Genetics. 167:1905-1914.

Munkvold, J.D., R.A. Greene, C.E. Bermudez-Kandianis, C.M. La Rota, H. Edwards, S.F. Sorrells, T. Dake, D. Benscher, R. Kantety, M.E. Sorrells et al. 2004. Group 3 chromosome bin maps of wheat and their relationship to rice chromosome 1. Genetics 168:639-650.

Qi, L., B. Echalier, S. Chao, G. Lazo, O.D. Anderson, E.D. Akhunov, J. Dvorak, A.M. Linkiewicz, A. Ratnasiri, J. Dubcovsky, C.E. Bermudez-Kandianis, R.A. Greene, R. Kantety, M. La Rota, J.D. Munkvold, S.F. Sorrells, M.E. Sorrells, et al. 2004. A chromosome bin map of 16,000 EST loci and distribution of genes among the three genomes of polyploid wheat. Genetics 168:701-712.

Sorrells, M.E. 2004. Cereal genomics research in the post-genomic era. 2004. p. 559-584. In: P.K. Gupta and R.K. Varshney (eds.) Cereal Genomics. Kluwer Academic Publ.Dordrecht, The Netherlands.

Yu, Ju-Kyung, C.M. La Rota, R. V. Kantety and M. E. Sorrells. 2004. EST-derived SSR markers for comparative mapping in wheat and rice. Molecular and General Genetics 271:742-751.

Adom, K.K., M.E. Sorrells, and R.H. Liu. 2005. Phytochemics and antioxidant activity of milled fractions of different wheat varieties. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 53:2297-2306.

Varshney, R.K., A. Graner, and M.E. Sorrells. 2005. Genic microsatellite markers in plants: their features and applications. Trends in Biotechnology 23:48-55.

Breseghello, F., and M.E. Sorrells. 2006a. Association mapping of kernel size and milling quality in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars. Genetics 172:1165-1177.

Breseghello, F., and M.E. Sorrells. 2006. Association analysis as a strategy for improvement of quantitative traits in plants. Crop Sci. 46:1323-1330.

Sorrells, M.E. A. Diab, and D. This. 2006. Drought adaptation in barley. In: J.M. Ribaut (ed.) Drought Adaptation in Cereals. Haworth Press, Inc.

© 2006 Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Cornell University